Migration Theories, Realities and Myths

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• Migration Theories, Realities and Myths

Dušan DRBOHLAV drbohlav_at_natur.cuni.cz Charles
University in Prague, Faculty of
Science, Department of Social Geography and
Regional Development
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• Presentation is also based on results of the
  following projects
• 1) The Grant Agency of the Czech Republic No.
  P404/10/0581 Migration and development
  economic and social impacts of migration on the
  Czech Republic and Ukraine (with a focus on the
  analysis of remittances)

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• Important books relevant to the topic
  (selection)
• VETROVEC, S. ed. (2010) Migration Critical
  Concepts in the Social Sciences. Vol. I,
  Theories. London and New York, Routledge.
• MASSEY, D.S., ARANGO, J., HUGO, G., KOUAOUCI, A.,
  PELLEGRINO, A., TAYLOR, E. (1998) Worlds in
  Motion Understanding International Migration at
  the End of the Millenium. New York, Clarendon
  Press, Oxford University Press Inc.
• BRETTELL, C.B., HOLLIFIELD, J.F. (2008)
  Migration Theory Talking across Disciplines.
  London and New York, Routledge.
• PORTES, A. (2010) Economic Sociology A
  Systematic Inquiry. Princeton and Oxford,
  Princeton University Press.

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Structure of the presentation

• Goals
• Main used terms
• Migration and its myths
• Migration and its specificities
• Role of human needs and information
• Migration theories and their shortcomings
• Micro versus macro approach
• Selected current migratory trends
• Economic theoretical perspective
• Historical-structural perspective

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Structure of the presentation

• Systems approach
• Theory of societal systems
• Value expectancy model
• Grand theory on immigration
• How to use theories in research

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Main goal of this presentation

• To contribute to combating the following myths
• There is no need to work with migration theories
• There is one general theory through which one
  can explain international migration process
• Theories as such are taboos, one should use them
  as they were originally designed and proposed

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Key terms

• Myth
• a traditional sacred story, typically revolving
  around the activities of gods and heroes, which
  purports to explain a natural phenomenon or
  cultural practice ...
• N) an unproved or false collective belief

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Key terms

• Theory - general explanations

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Key terms

• Theory the most developed form of a scientific
  knowledge bringing a systematic, general
  picture of regularities and significant
  interconnections and contexts
• consistency, clear definition of terms,
  completeness,
• exact data, a set of principles, postulates,
  axioms, logic inferences, causal links,
• summary of theorretical results

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Theory

• A full-fledged theory should have four elements
• (Portes 1997)
• 1) a delimitation and description of some patch
  of reality
• 2) an identification and definition of a process
  or characteristic to be explained (the dependent
  variable)
• 3) one or more explanatory factors and their
  types of effects, additive or interactive
• 4) a logical link to at least one other similar
  proposition

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Theory

• The biologist passess, the frog remains.
• Theories pass, the frog remains
• (J. Rostand 1894-1977 in Knowles 2007)
• While theories may be discarded, the facts do not
  alter (Knowles 2007)

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Myth I

• International migration is an easy topic that can
  be tackled and dealt with by anybody
• Migration is a complex (interdisciplinary) issue
  that is influenced/conditioned by various -
  mostly external - factors it makes any analyses
  very difficult

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Myth II

• International migration can be managed well in a
  sense that even inflows can be stopped in harmony
  with our needs
• Many realities of the current world go againts
  this proclamation
• globalization, integration of the world economy,
  cheap international travel, information
  revolution, western liberal doctrine spread
  throughout the third-world countries

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Myth III

• International migration is either or matter
• International migration is not a black and white
  story there are different patterns involved,
  both winners and losers etc.

The short answer to the question as to whether I
am for or against immigration is Yes!
(Chiswick 2009)
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Myth III cont.

• International migration is not only a settlement
  migration or a circular labour migration
• the whole picture is very diversified
• new migratory types
• e.g. the fluid migration (IDEA project,
  Okolskis team)

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Myth III cont.

• Regarding economic impacts
• In broad terms, the economic impact of
  migration is positive for the destination
  country but the size of the impact is not great,
  and there are distributional consequences to
  consider (Kleinman 2003).

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Myth IV

• We can successfully combat illegal/irregular
  international migration
• No, we cannot since
• There is an intense and permanent DEMAND for an
  illegal foreign workforce, specifically from a
  number of employers in developed countries who
  are always willing to hire this cheap, flexible,
  and productive workforce in spite of the various
  risks involved
• The phenomenon is often quietly tolerated by
  political representations and officials
• One of the structural components of modern
  capitalism (e.g. Pallidda 2005).
• In addition, in the post-communist world -
  degraded morale that allowed many informal
  activities to become a generally tolerated
  reality

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Myth V

• Illegal/irregular migration brings no positive
  effects for immigration countries
• There are some positive impacts Filling
  unappealing and low-paid work positions, a cheap
  and flexible workforce, the development of
  certain economic entities and branches. Also,
  individual households benefit from the presence
  of illegal/irregular workers (cheaper home
  services, construction, reconstruction, etc.),
  prices of some goods and services decrease
• Illegal/irregular economic migration - a
  dangerous phenomenon. As illegal/irregular
  migrants do not comply with the law and
  legislation, they contribute towards undermining
  democratic systems, which are built on adherence
  to legal principles. In principle, this migration
  is also inequitable/unfair.

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Myths VI

• International migration (immigrants) may
  eliminate expected population ageing in developed
  immigration countries
• The Report by the UN Population Division
  Replacement Migration Is It a Solution to a
  Declining and Ageing Population (2000, 2001)
  clearly answers no it is not possible
• The migration flows needed to keep the potential
  support ratio (workers to non-workers) constant
  are unprecedentaly high, see e.g.
• the EU 13.5 million a year,
• Korea more than 5 billion !

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Myths

• Chiswick, B.R. (2009) Top Ten Myths and
  Fallacies Regarding Immigration
• Policy Paper Series, IZA Policy Paper No. 12.
  Bonn, Institute for the Study of Labour.

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Myths

• The main goal of this presentation is to
  contribute to combating the following myths
• There is no need to work with migration theories
• There is one general theory through which one
  can explain international migration process
• Theories as such are taboos, one should use them
  as they were originally designed and proposed

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Migration and its specificity

• International migration is a very complex
  phenomenon. Not only migration itself but also
  its consequences are complex
• external heterogeneous factors behind

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Complexity of various specific migratory features

• Specificity in time and space,
• growing interdependence and international
  linkages of various migration flows in line with
  increasing political, economic and social
  interdependence among nation states,
• multicausality of migration motivation,
• qualitatively and quantitatively different types
  of migration flows at various hierarchical
  levels.

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Wide area and causality of migration

• Migration analysis is the attempt to explain the
  decision-making mechanism (individual, household,
  or village) and human behaviour for persons (with
  different personality traits and sociocultural
  backgrounds) interacting with and reacting to (at
  different levels) the general environment
  (socioeconomic, ecological, and political
  stimuli) over time (short- and long-run
  situations) in order to achieve (maximize,
  minimize, or satisfy) certain objectives
  (personal or otherwise, economic and noneconomic)
  with certain consequences (on the migrant and
  others in the sending and receiving points) -
  Chang (1981) ???

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Interdisciplinary approach

• When researching into migration issues
• the interdisciplinary approach is necessary
• geography, sociology, economy, demography,
  etnology, anthropology, political science,
  history, psychology, law, planning
• - Interdisciplinary view is to develop a more
  satisfactory theoretical approach (Hammar 1992)

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Human needs as a key trigger of migration
movements -

• Individuals ambitions of permanently increasing
  and differentiating her/his needs a primary
  cause of a migration process (see e.g.
  pleonexie - Korcak 1973)
• in line with secondary human needs

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Human needs as a key and natural trigger of
migration movements -

• Secondary human needs
• Acquisition need to gain possessions and
  property
• Achievement - need to overcome obstacles,
  exrcise power and try to do a difficult task well
  and quickly
• Dominance need to influence or control others
• Autonomy - need to resist influence or coercion
• Aggression need to assault or harm another
• Affiliation need to form friendship and
  associations
• Nurturance need to nourish, aid, or protect
  helpless people
• Succourance need to seek help, protection, or
  sympathy
• Cognizance need to inquire, explore, seek
  knowledge, and satisfy curiosity
• These needs include, in fact, psychological,
  economic, social and political aspects as well
  especially needs no. 1,2, 4, and 9, can trigger
  and propel movemnts and be quite relevant to
  international migration.
• Migration inherent law of a human existence
  (not an aberrant or even perverse behaviour)

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Information as a very important aspect behind
migration movements

• The role of information in the migration context
  is quite crucial
• the current era of globalization and
  information revolution contributes to intensity
  of migratory movements
• The Preds matrix from which it is possible to
  infer a probability of moving according to a
  quality and quantity of information available to
  a person as well as to her/his ability to make
  use of this information

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Paradoxes I

• Migration is typical of ambiguities,
  contradictions and paradoxes
• The heart of the matter lies in the migration
  process itself and its mutual interrelations with
  a socioeconomic sphere
• - the contradiction between the short-term and
  long-term effects of economic development upon
  the propensities for emigration

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Paradoxes II

• 2) Problems stemming from a different attitude of
  scholars towards the object of the study (there
  is also a danger that perhaps a firm faith
  rather than an objective reasoning comes into the
  play.
• For example In the developmental approach,
  there are differences in interpretation of
  benefits and costs, depending on what is thought
  to constitute development. Those inclined to
  think of growth and development as a matter of
  capital accumulation and industrialization, view
  migration as drawing off surplus labour, causing
  wage increase and stimulating technological
  change those that have primary concern for
  distribution, local development and social
  problems are quick to point out the cost-sectoral
  and regional imbalances, decline in production
  (and possibly productivity) in certain sectors,
  conspicuous consumption and so on (Swamy 1985)
• Important philosophic-methodological aspects
  within interpretations!

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Paradoxes III

• 3) Paradoxes tied to a policy
• - The right to emigrate (established in the UN
  Declaration of Human Rights) has no counterpart
  with regard to the right to immigrate
• - The developed countries have been proclaiming
  and willing to support politically and
  economically the development of the Third World,
  their real economic policy directly or indirectly
  restrain these efforts
• - On one hand, developed immigration countries
  proclaim combatting undocumented migration, on
  the other hand, they often tolerate
  irregular/undocumenting migrants on their labour
  markets

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Contradictions in scholars opinions

• Push-pull concept
• Golledge, Stimson (1987) argue that the push-pull
  model can be perhaps used more at the
  micro-level, Bogue (1977) points out that the
  traditional push-pull framework has limited
  utility for a microlevel approach

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Migration theories and related shortcomings

• Very often we rather speak about pragmatic or
  ad hoc attitudes
• - Some of the so called theories are actually
  nothing more than concepts, frameworks,
  perspectives, attitudes, or rather primitively
  summarized experience
• - Very limited attempts to establish a theory
  about simultaneous interaction of the factors and
  almost no attempt is made to formulate general
  causal models in which listed factors appear as
  aspects of the casual mechanisms

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Theories and related shortcomings

• There are hardly any exactly ascertained facts
  followed with principles, laws, axioms and
  postulates describing the object of study lack
  of logical methods of infering, of proof and
  lastly of a summary of theoretical knowledge
• As a corollary, hardly any systematic, general
  picture about regularities and fundamental
  continuities in the give field

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Theories and related shortcomings

• A close connection between a final theory and
  empirical facts
• The use of theories is constrained by the
  availability of data, whereas interpretation of
  data depends on available theories (de Beer
  1990)
• Generally, international migration statistics
  suffer from many shortcomings too!
• Thus, the vicious circle comes to the play
• Real value of international migration research?
  a good theory has the best practical use ???!!!

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Theories and related shortcomings

• There is no one general theory of migration It
  is unlikely that any one general theory could
  encompass all specific empirical foci (Richmond
  1984), grand theory of migration is impossible
  to design (Portes 1997) - The reason is that the
  different areas that compose the field of
  migration studies are too disparate to be unified
  in any meaningful way such a theory would
  necessarily be too generic and abstract to the
  point of being useless for empirical analysis,
  researchers or policy makers (Portes 1997,
  Triandafyllidou,
• Blair 2008)
• Too complex it is beyond our grasp
• It should encompass aspects like Who are
  migrants? Why do they move, stay or return? Why
  and where do they move? When do they move? What
  are the effects of such action on migrants and on
  others? etc (see Chang 1981)

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Theories and related shortcomings

• Theories mostly focus upon labour migration
  movements
• Theorizing concentrated upon immigration
  countries
• Small attention in migration theories devoted to
  females
• Ignoring political considerations/aspects when
  working on migration theories

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Theories and related shortcomings

• When establishing theories delaying in
  following actual features of the objective
  reality
• The role of frontiers is not adequately taken
  into account in migration theories
• Applying experience accepted in internal to
  international migration without any corrections,
  improvements and sometimes even references !!!

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Internal versus international migration - common
features and differences

• Common features
• Similar analytical frameworks (methods of
  analysis)
• Common social and economic roots
• Similar determinants and consequences
• Structural similarities namely, migrants tend
  to be young
• Places boasting a high standard of living (in a
  complex view) serve as migratory magnets
• Movements which begin as short term (or
  circulatory) may often change into long-term and
  permanent ones
• A close relationship between geographical and
  social mobility

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Internal versus international migration -
common features and differences

• Differences
• International movements are much more susceptible
  to political and administrative control
• Reasons for international migration are more
  complex. In the broadest sense of the word, this
  migration is much more strongly influenced by
  political factors and social networks
• The distance factor carries a different weighting
  in the different types of migration

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Theory and epistemological basis

• Objectivity versus social construction (the dual
  character of societies)
• Positivists believe that there is a single
  objective truth or reality that can be found in
  studying social institutions or practices (E.
  Durkheim and his social facts as things take
  on an objective and hence measurable character)
• For positivists social science is a matter of
  improving research methods to the point at which
  they can accurately describe and measure social
  facts. Positivists believe in objectivity
  quantitative research approaches (see more in
  Castles 2012 in Vargas-Silva 2012)

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Theory and epistemological basis

• Interpretative sociology the observer has to
  try to understand the meaning of social action
  and institutions for the people involved, leading
  to the idea of interpretative sociology.
  reduction to empirical laws is meaningless M.
  Weber social and cultural knowledge was always
  conditioned through evaluative ideas the
  object of cognition is the subjective-meaning
  complex of action the principle that knowledge
  about social relationships and practices is
  constantly being created, modified and related
  through processes of social interaction. People
  in society perceive social phenomena as a reality
  that is independent of their own volition, even
  though these social phenomena are constructed by
  human beings and can therefore be changed by
  them. Judgements on reality are socially relative
  
• For constructivists social sciences have to
  interpret the social meanings that they find, and
  may actually influence these in the process ..
  There is no single truth in social phenomena
  (complexity of social situations, no possibility
  to include all possible factors into models
  qualitative research approaches (see more in
  Castles 2012 in Vargas-Silva 2012)

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Theory and scales

• a key dimension of migration theory lies in
  conceptualizing the way social transformation
  processes act at different spatial levels (local,
  regional, national and global Pries 2007,
  Castles 2012)
• migration theory needs to be historically and
  culturally sited, and to relate structure and
  action Castles 2012

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Micro versus macro approaches

• In line with philosophic and methodological
  differences
• Macro-tradition mainly the Marxist/conflict/hist
  orical-structural perspective
• Micro approaches functionalist, equilibrium,
  classical/neo-classical perspective (e.g.
  push-pull, cost-benefit, human capital models) or
  a behavioural perspective

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Micro versus macro approaches

• The microlevel perspective stress on an
  individual, family, household their behaviour
  and processes tied to this microsocial milieu
• The macrolevel perspective emphasizes economic,
  social, and political circumstances the context
  of which is an actual area for a behaviour of
  individual migrants
• A must to take into account macro as well as
  micro approaches within any meaningful touching
  the interantional migration issue
• Both perspectives significant and
  complementary to one another

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Micro versus macro approaches

• Microlevel study must take into account at all
  steps the infuence of macrofactors, the social
  and institutional, the economic and the
  geographic context within which the individual
  exists. On the other hand, macrolevel studies of
  migration that do not include a consideration of
  the decision-making process may very easily miss
  some important factors and aspects of migration
  (Gardner 1981)
• To overcome the problems???
• a close co-operation and acceptance of
  objective results among supporters of different
  perspectives

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Migration research historical patterns

• E.G. Ravenstein (1885, 1889) The Laws
• of Migration. Journal of the Royal Statistical
  Society, 48, pp. 167-235 (52, pp. 241-301).
• E. Lee (1969), R.P. Shaw (1975)

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• W. Zelinski
• (1971)

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Current trends - S curve versus transnationalism

• In fact, the two concepts need not to be in
  opposition a transnational system can also be
  created by migrants who settle abroad but sustain
  significant ties with their place of origin

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Circular labour migration and its transformation
into permanent immigration and settlement
(Martin, Taylor 1995)
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• Individual stages of this transformation

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Current trends - transnationalism

• The creation of a transnational community
  linking immigrant groups in the advanced
  countries with their respective sending nations
  and hometowns This field is composed of a
  growing number of people who live dual lives
  speaking two languages, having homes in two
  countries, and making a living through regular
  contact across national borders. Activities
  within the transnational field are comprised of a
  whole gamut of economic, political and social
  initiatives ranging from informal import-export
  business, to the rise of a class of binational
  professionals, to the campaigns of native
  politicians among their expatriates (Portes,
  Guarnizo,Landolt 1999)

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Transnationalism and its types (Portes, Guarnizo,
Landolt 1999)
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New migratory forms/types liquid migration
The concept of liquid migration is inspired by
Zygmunt Baumans work (1999 2005) on liquid
modernity (Engbersen et al. 2009). Central to
the notion of liquidity is the idea that thick
and stable social institutions (class, family,
labour, community, neighbourhood and nation
state) are fading away and being replaced by
flexible, thin institutions (see also
Zijderveld 2000). Migration has always been
strongly embedded in patterns of family,
community, local labour markets, and the
nation-state (Portes and Sensenbrenner 1993
Portes 1995). The transformation of these
institutions, together with ever more advanced
communication technologies and the disappearance
of internal borders following EU enlargement, has
changed migration patterns in post-industrial
societies and has made migration trends less
predictable. Liquid migration has six dominant
characteristics
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Liquid migration (Engbersen)

• 1 Settlement temporality of migration and stay
• - Temporary migration
• - Temporary settlement semi-integration in
  destination country
• 2 Type of migration Labour and student
  migration
• - Labour migrants
• - Student migrants
• - Economic asylum seekers and refugees
• 3 Status legal residential status
• - Regular migration
• - Temporary work permit holders (Romania and
  Bulgaria)
• 4 Destination No predetermined receiving
  country
• - Multiple receiving countries
• - New receiving countries
• 5 Family individualised life strategy
• - Individualised forms of migration
• - First generation pattern
• 6 Migratory habitus intentional unpredictability
  
• - No definite migration aspirations
• - Open options

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IDEA conceptual framework Okolski, Arango,
Fassmann (Okolski ed. 2012)

• Concept of the European migration cycle
• Based on an assumption that all European nation
  states proceed from net emigration to net
  immigration countries
• In the course of the change countries experience
  specific migration stages preliminary, take off,
  expansion and maturity
• In the preliminary stage - masses of rural
  population are pushed out and compelled to
  migration due to a fast growth of productivity
  coupled with a high rate of natural increase
  leading to large emigration
• On the contrary, the mature stage involves a
  steady and sizable presence of immigrants (or
  their descendants) and a continuous but strictly
  regulated inflow of foreigners in accordance with
  the needs of economy
• The stage of maturity emerges from two
  intermediate stages (take-off and expansion) and
  it develops with declining natural increase,
  ageing of population and growing labour demand
• Hence, main drivers of the countrys change from
  emigration to immigration country relate to the
  demographic and economic developments together
  with paradigms of migration and control policies
• The main goal was to juxtapose migration
  situation of CEE countries to the migration
  cycle concept

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Economic theoretical perspective and migration
(neoclassical economic approach)

• Most of alternative approches derived from the
  push-pull and human capital models (e.g. Sjaastad
  1962, Todaro 1969)
• The push-pull model springs generally from a
  principle that migration is a consequence of a
  socioeconomic disequilibrium among regions when
  some factors operate primarily either as
  pushing a man out of a given palce or, on the
  contrary, as pulling him/her to another one
  additional variables (intervening opportunities
  and barriers Stouffer 1940)
• The migration was seen as a stream of manpower to
  regions with a lack of capital and a surplus of
  manpower to regions with a lack of manpower and a
  surplus of capital where the salaries and wages
  are higher there is to be the redistribution of
  the human capital, migration is the development
  fostering process According to this theory,
  workers do not migrate if there are no
  differences in the earnings or employment rates
  between countries

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Economic theoretical perspective and migration
(neoclassical economic approach)

• Sjaastad (1962) in his human capital model as the
  first realized and suggested that the individual
  migrates in the expectation of being better off
  and individual moves if she/he believes that the
  benefits will exceed the costs
• - time aspect and expected rather than actual
  earnings taken into account
• Todaro (1969) particularly included for a migrant
  the possibility of being unemployed the
  individual must balance this risk against a
  positive real income
• Variations of the basic models
  simultaneous-equation model, sequential
  decision-making framework etc.

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Economic theoretical perspective and migration
(neoclassical economic approach)

• The common element of the mentioned models
  (applied to micro level) is the feature of
  individual activity involved
• Shortcomings of this perspective
• Questionable use in terms of hierarchical levels
  (regional and structural)
• When using microdata - neglect of areal
  characteristics
• A danger of generalizing from aggregated data
  analyses to individual-level phenomena
• So many genuine assumptions coming to the models
  like homogeneity, substituality, rationality,
  maximization of a profit, minimalization of a
  discomfort, perfect infomation, flexibility of
  prices, equilibrity of a market
• All is based on two variables effects of
  income and unemployment
• The models deal only with labour migration they
  omit encompassing social and political
  structures, overlook nonmonetary costs generally,
  nothing about assimilation of information, values
  and prefernces , only the capitalist historical
  period is taken into account

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Economic theoretical perspective and migration
(neoclassical economic approach)

• - Economic models either too simple and static
  or methodologically socphisticated but
  theoretically primitive, in sum confused
• Scarcity of empirical testing
• The labour market theories do not explain a start
  and ending of movements, they are not able to
  catch specific conditions within given countries
  why the movements do not involve all of people,
  why labour migration do exist also among
  countries being at the relatively same high stage
  of development (including the brain exchange
  phenomenon etc.)?

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Economic theoretical perspective and migration
(neoclassical economic approach)

• Advantages
• Explanatory models in nature
• Some researchers expand the human capital model
  to also include noneconomic variables (.. Da
  Vanzo)

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Historical-structural (conflict, Marxist,
neo-Marxist) perspective and migration

• To certain extent, response to the
  individualistic neoclassical economic approach
  many concepts/subconcepts world system
  theorydependency theory, internal
  colonialism, centre-periphery framework or
  global accumulation concept
• It follows Marxs ideas and work of the
  historical materialism with a fundamental
  postulate that classes are defined by social
  relations of production
• The perspective treats development and
  underdevelopment as parts of a single integral
  totality (the world capitalist economy) which
  simultaneously depends on, and re-creates
  conditions for worldwide economic inequality
  (Papademetriou 1988) These theories emphasize
  the peripheral status of poor countries in an
  international system in which the rich countries
  are at the centre. The rich central countries
  serve as a vacuum drawing wealth out of the
  periphery to such an extent that the periphery is
  impoverished (Stahl 1988) capital, commodities
  and labour move across national boundaries as
  part of a developing process that creates complex
  inescapable ties of interdependence between
  countries labour migration is explained by the
  economies over the peripheral and the specific
  effects of difference in the real and social wage
  levels in the core and the periphery which leads
  to recruitment across national boundaries from
  what is, in effect, an international pool of
  reserve labour

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Historical-structural (conflict, Marxist,
neo-Marxist) perspective and migration

• Focus on migrants exploitation in rich
  destination countries and their exposition to
  various constraints, limits and barriers
• migrants are mere agents of social change,
  carrying the necessary attributes of labour to
  satisfy the abstract requirements of the general
  law of capitalist accumulation
• Decreasing or freezing wages and prices
• Selectivity in choosing only young and healthy
  workers
• Inaccessibility to many of social achievements
• Vague legal status, limited geographical and
  social mobility
• Regional and areal concentration of immigrants
  (ghettoization)
• Distinct and quite unambiguous unit of observing
  a migration stream as a whole

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Historical-structural (conflict, Marxist,
neo-Marxist) perspective and migration

• The world systems theory emphasises structural
  factors that contribute to the uneven development
  of sending and receiving countries and the
  structural disparities and dependence between
  these economies. However, it also indirectly
  recognises the role of individuals and families
  as agents of migration as they point to the
  function of ideological and cultural links
  between developing and advanced countries
  (Triandafyllidou, Blair )
• Many queries in the play
• People only as a passive element behaviour can
  be explained by the individuals location within
  the larger system
• The theory deals only with labour migration
  movements
• Ideology comes into the play
• No specific economic/social/political climate in
  various nations/states is being taken into
  account
• No possibility of improving social status for
  immigrants in host societies, immigrants seen
  permanently exluded from the benefits of being
  incorporated into a host society, having a
  citizenship rights and taking a welfare state
  benefits, immigrants enter the labour market at
  the lowest levels of socioeconomic status
• Injuriousness of labour emigration
• These statements often in contradiction with
  reality

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Historical-structural (conflict, Marxist,
neo-Marxist) perspective and migration

• Overestimation of macrostructural forces,
  ignoring individual activity and abilities
• How would world system advocates explain the
  famine-induced Irish emigration to the United
  States in the 1840s, the migration which resulted
  from political and religions persecution of the
  past several centuries, or the forced migration
  of Africans to North America? Alternatively, how
  can we explain the variations of significant
  emigration flows from countries that are
  similarly incorporated into the world capitalist
  economy (Papademetriou 1988)?

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Systems approach

• Based on Mabogunje (1970) who applied General
  Systems Theory to the rural-urban migration in
  Africa
• contrary to a linear uni-directional,
  push-and-pull, cause-effect movement, it enables
  us consideration of a movement as a circular,
  independent, progressively complex, and
  self-modifying system in which the effect of
  changes in one part can be traced through the
  whole of the system (Mabogunje 1970).
• He works with four components of migration
  environment economic, social, technological and
  governmental ones he considers, inter alia, the
  relationship between the social and spatial
  mobility he points out a role of aspirations and
  the importance of information (and the feedback
  effect that became the core of later on devloped
  the concept of social networks)

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Systems approach

• Other scholars highlight regional approach in
  defining a migration system where regional
  proximity is accompanied with close economic and
  political ties, comparable level of an economic
  development, slimilar migration behaviour,
  cultural background and political proximity
• - Migration systems are spaces characterised
  by the relatively
• stable association of a group of receiving
  countries with a number of
• areas of origin. Such association does not
  only result from migration
• flows, but is buttressed by connections and
  links of a varied nature (Arango 2000).
• In the past the concept of social networks or
  global economic, structuralist macro level
  looking at the reality were considered as
  systems approach
• Elements that define the existence of the
  migration system relative structural
  homogeneity, geographic contiguity or proximity,
  similarity of policies, and common belonging to
  supranational organisations (Zlotnik 1992
  accoding to Arango 2000)
• Perhaps there might be key elements typical of
  the systems approach like complexity
  encompassing both the micro and micro factors,
  dynamism, interrelations, interactions,
  interlinkages, openness and flexibility

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Systems approach

• What are real principles which the systems
  approach towards international migration is based
  on?
• The model is as yet no more than a desideratum
  which has
• never been fulfilled, at least as far as
  international migration is concerned. It has
  hardly gone beyond the identification of
  international migration systems, at a purely
  descriptive level (Arango 2000).
• The full potential of the approach still remains
  at the stage of promise (Arango 2000)

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Other important theories/concepts

• Network theory, Dual labour market theory,
  Institutional theory, New economics of migration,
  Gravity models, etc.

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Theory of Societal Systems

• Proposed by Hoffmann-Nowotny (1983) one of the
  real, more general and well formulated
  migratory theories
• - It is built on General Systems Theory ground
• It integrates well known sociological, social
  psychological and economic concepts from the
  areas of startification, mobility, social change,
  status crystallization, symbolic interaction and
  marginal utility, or at least elements of them
• There are basic terms the structure and
  culture versus the power and prestige and
  the status line between them

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Theory of Societal Systems

• Generally, the movement and various types of
  tensions spring from the discordance between the
  power and prestige, and consequently, the society
  and therefore people are, to some extent, and, in
  some way, on the move
• Migration can be seen as the process of social
  interaction with the effect of reduction of the
  tension in the emigration system and, on the
  contrary, immigration may contribute to the
  building of tension in the receiving society
• In fact, the theory deals with a complicated
  relationship between social and spatial mobility,
  when stressing the system level including the
  hierarchical principle

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Value expectancy model

• Based on work of psychologist Crawford (1973)
  especially developed and cultivated by de Jong
  and Fawcett (e.g. 1981)
• The main proposal the action in certain ways
  depends on the expectancy that the act will be
  followed by a given consequence (or goal) and the
  value of that consequence (or goal) to the
  individual
• This model assumes that people will usually
  behave in a forward looking, positive way, making
  choices that they believe will maximise their
  well-being

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Value expectancy model

• It is necessary to get to know personally valued
  goals that might be met by moving (or staying)
  and asses perceived linkage in terms of
  expectancy between migration behaviour and the
  outcome
• Model deals with subjective evaluation and
  weighting the factors coming to play in achieving
  goals
• Seven main groups of values or goals nased on
  psychological and socioeconomic elements we
  formulated wealth, status, comfort, stimulation,
  autonomy, affiliation and morality
• these essential attributes of migration
  motivation are enriched by important factors
  describing broader socioeconomic, sociocultural
  and demographic environment individual and
  household characteristics, societal and cultural
  norms, personal traits, opportunity structure
  between areas and information

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Value expectancy model

• Migration behaviour is thus hypothesized to be
  the result of 1) the strength of the value
  expactancy derived intentions to move, 2) the
  indirect influences of background individual and
  aggregate factors and 3) the potential modifying
  effects of often unanticipated constraints and
  facilitators which may intervene between
  intentions and behaviour
• Advantages of the model it combines micro and
  macro elements of the reality individual,
  household and societal-level migration
  determinants it is a simple model, easy to apply
• Shortcomings the model is based on assumtions
  e.g. physical and mental ability, rationality, it
  cannot explain forced migration

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Thank you for your attention